Buckets Full of Change

I've recently been asked several times why I haven't updated my blog is such a long time and the answer is very simple, while the activities behind it are actually quite complicated.  I don't have the time to dedicate to explain everything at this time, but have felt that the time is right to begin sharing.

The Holmes and Rahe stress scale is used in order to correlate stressful life events and the likelihood of illness and disease.  A score of over 300 "Life Change Units" is said to put one in the highest category of  "at risk of illness".  (You can find an easy to read article here: Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale)

The following represents how I stack up in the last 5 months:

Life event	Life change units	Notes
Divorce	73	June: In progress
Personal injury or illness	53	July: Result of stress?
Dismissal from work	47	Announced 8/24
Marital reconciliation	45	We’ve had to reconcile some since we are still living under the same roof.
Sexual difficulties	39	2012: Result of marital strife.
Change in financial state	38	2012: See spouse not working
Change in frequency of arguments	35	Ummm Divorce… duh.
Child leaving home	29	June: 2 month stay w/dad
Spouse starts or stops work	26	Off and on since Dec.
Begin or end school	26	March: Begun  Aug: Term End
Change in living conditions	25	See divorce/reconciliaton
Revision of personal habits	24	Stopped Working out
Change in sleeping habits	16	Not sleeping: Stress
Change in eating habits	15	Not eating well: Stress
Vacation	13	July: 20 yr Reunion
Total Life Change Units	504	Yikes!

So frankly, if I wake up with cancer tomorrow, I won't be surprised.  lol.  No, wait, that isn't a laughing matter.  Here is the way I see it.  I am certainly at risk for illness and the like, but I believe that it has more to do with your perception of the events than it does with the actual events themselves.  I believe that you can go through period of life such as mine and get through it without a hitch.  Clearly, the stress scale above isn't making a causative statement where I am destined to be ill due to the intensity of my score, but is merely making a correlation based on average responses of their study subjects over time.

We all have periods in our lives where we feel a sense of overwhelm.  Where it seems as if there isn't one more thing that we can handle, yet the universe seems to keep piling it on.  We exclaim, "When it rains it pours."  We reach out to friends and family for support in our time of need.  We cry ourselves to sleep, we weep at commercials, we lash out at our family for the slightest misgivings.  In doing so, we are venting, or bearing down on our pressure release valves that keep us from imploding.  However, there are other ways in which we can do this.  Much more constructive ways in fact.

One of my favorite ways to manage the stress, is to focus only on that which I can control.  Sometimes, that is very little, but it might be that I am in control of my workouts, or what I choose to have to drink that day.  Then I focus on my plan.  This piece is crucial for me.  I feel anxious when I don't have a plan of action, so I make one.  Again, I am then choosing my destiny.

Events will happen in our lives both good and bad.  The bad will seem to come all at once and pound us like a sledgehammer.  In order for you to be able to get through it in one piece, you need to choose a different path.  You need to make your plan in accordance with the circumstances that you happen to be in at the moment.  Figure out what you can control and begin to make plans to alter the circumstances.  You'll make it through....  we all do.  :)

Officially a Runner?

At what point do you consider yourself a runner? I can tell you that in my life never did I think that my name and runner would be used the same sentence. I dreaded it, hated it, nay, in fact, I loathed it.

Running was a dreadful activity and I could never ever fathom why anyone would want to do it for fun. I always assumed those were the people that weren't quite crazy enough to be committed.... Yet. Even in high school I marveled at those willing to join the cross country team. "They must be accepting bribes", I thought to myself. Why would anyone want to punish themselves voluntarily? Now, I find myself drawn to it.

In my first ever "race", my brother dubiously tricked me into it by claiming that it was a charity walk. Walking, I like, in fact I'll would have walked to the ends of the earth and back if my iPod would have lasted that long. But this was a formal 5k, complete with timing chips and runners who are clambering to the front of the line while clinging to the hope of shaving a second or so off their personal records. I was now amongst them, me and all of my 289 pounds of flesh.

I walked the entire way, comforted only by the fact that I was still passing folks. (Lest we talk about the fact that they were either ancient or newly walking toddlers). Nevertheless, I finished and even jogged the last 100 yards before I needed a lung transplant. I have to admit however, that the mere act of participating in an event such as that was a bit exciting and brought back a flood of memories from the 4 years of high school track and field meets that shaped my very being.

After surgery, I reflected on that first 5k and thought it might be a good goal and motivator to get my butt moving in the exercise arena. One of the hottest trends in the sport are mud runs, invented I am sure, in order to attract a fresh audience who might otherwise shun the sport in favor of other less boredom inflicting pursuits. Given that I was a reluctant participant, I thought that the mud and obstacles might make for an interesting break and make running suck just a little less.

The MS 10k Mud (and obstacle) Run was my first real (voluntary) foray into the world of running. While interesting in concept and perhaps fun for others, I found the mud an unnecessary obstacle that, at times, seemed hell bent on making me wish I were dead. Granted, it probably didn't help that I was only 3 months out of surgery and attempting to slog through 6+ miles of mud and sand on less than 600 calories. However, I still find no use for an interruption in my pace. Give me some tunes and just let me go.

I've found lately that I've gotten stronger and less likely to fall over dead at the thought of participating in a marathon. While I hated the mud run, I continued to use running/walking as my cardio exercise of choice. I have had quite a few breakthroughs recently that I'd like to share with you, if for no other reason than to get a few "atta girls!".

When I first began "training" I couldn't run for more than 30 seconds at a time rendering every single couch to 5k program useless and disheartening.
Three weeks ago: I ran for 2 minutes straight.
The week following: 5 minutes
Last week: 10 minutes with an average pace of 13:02/mile
Three days later: average pace of 11:45/mile

I might not ever make it to the coveted elite classes of runners with paces in the single digits, but by hell, I think I'm a runner now!